The present invention relates to a device for holding drink containers, drinking vessels or the like.
Devices for holding containers especially in motor vehicles are known. The container usually stands on a supporting surface which is arranged either removably or foldable, and a supporting ring or the like fixes the container laterally. Sometimes, the diameter of the supporting ring can be adjusted to the size of the container.
One of such devices is disclosed for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,909. This patent discloses an adjustable can holder which can be installed at an appropriate location in a motor vehicle. It has a supporting part that holds out and has two arms, and the distance between the arms is variable in accordance with the size of the container. The base part located below the supporting part also folds out, and the can can stand on the base part. When the can holder is not use, the supporting part and the base part can be folded up in such a manner that the can holder may be stored as a flat part unobtrusively in a motor vehicle. The device described in this patent cannot be housed securely in a storage compartment of a motor vehicle, but is rather arranged at an appropriate location of the motor vehicle. Thereby the devices requires a relatively large amount of space especially in view of its overall height which is determined by the diameter of the ring-shaped supporting part.
German patent document DE 40 22 193 A1 discloses a device for holding a drink container or the like, especially in a motor vehicle, which is attached in an articulated manner to a central console. The holding device includes a ring-shaped supporting part which accommodates a drink container, and a swivel clamp both swivellable about a first swivel axis. The swivel clamp is swivellably mounted on a swivel arm which is attached in articulated manner to a mounting part. The holding device is swivellable from an in-use position outside the storage compartment to a rest position inside the storage compartment. A drink container is supported by its underside on the edge of the storage compartment. The storage compartment serves essentially only for storage of the device.
European patent document EP 0 447 263 A2 discloses a pull-out device which is similar to a music cassette and can be ejected from an slot and opened up. For this purpose the device has plates articulated to each other and having openings for holding two containers. The plates can collapse and be let into the slot again. For supporting itself, the device has an inclined support plate with a width determining the minimum overall height of the device.
It is known that in motor vehicles it is desirable to provide a storage compartment in the region of the central console for various useful articles, and therefore it is also possible to have a device for holding containers. It is therefore believed to be clear that this is desirable to provide a device that can be stored even in low storage compartments which are still available for other purposes. This cannot be provided by the existing devices.